Do you play solos?

[geeza]

I was just wondering what you guys think of playing drum solos. Wheather you do or don't and your reasoning behind it. I've been playing for twenty years and i don't play drum solos ever. I get asked all the time to play one and i just tell people i can't play a drum solo. Even though there are different approach's to playing a solo, too many drummers seem to just play a series of grooves together. I like to think of a solo as a song in itself that is dynamic, you know , with suspense , highs and lows and morphing patterns. When i'm alone at home i play around with these ideas but don't feel the need to play them at a gig. In my opinion if you're doing some dynamic hi-hat or cymbal trickery, the average listener with nothing but a top 40 sensibility could care less unless you bust out a straight forward double bass pattern layered with some rolls. Although i like them , solos are'nt for me.

[jay norem]

It's something I never work on. I used to, a long time ago, but really I just don't think I have the chops to pull off a good drum solo, so I never take one. I don't really hear drum solos where my own music is concerned, and my own music is pretty much all I play anymore, so that's my excuse!

[caddywumpus]

I do clinics, and I'm expected to do some kind of solo at each one. Of course, there are solos and trading 4s in jazz, but I'm assuming that you mean the kind of solo that is just a drummer playing unaccompanied.

Jay--you don't have to have crazy chops to do a solo. If you want the audience and other band members to dig your solo, it's all about phrasing and groove.

Phrase it like a melody; with ups and downs, tension and resolution, theme and development, and most important of all: rests. A solo where a drummer just "goes off" and plays a barrage of blisteringly fast notes gets boring after about, oh, 6-7 seconds. If you think of solos like melodies played on drums, it makes them sound more appealing and interesting. Also, the groove is what makes your solo flow and have a forward push.

[jay norem]

Jay--you don't have to have crazy chops to do a solo. If you want the audience and other band members to dig your solo, it's all about phrasing and groove.

Very true, Caddy. I feel a little guilty about it, actually. Getting lazy in my old age. Tell you what, I'll work up a solo for one of my tunes and freak the lads out at the next gig. Well, not that soon.
I'm going to do it on Feb.15. We're playing Studio 281; I have sufficient time to put some things together. I'll start working on it tomorrow.

[Wavelength]

I play very few solos on gigs, but that's because I usually play gigs that don't call for solos. If I partake in a jazz jam session, I'll play quite a few (mainly fours, eights or twelves), but on your regular top 40 / rock gig, not so much. Now, I do like to practice soloing, especially with a metronome. It's uncomfortable and generally sounds awful, but I strive to execute my musical ideas in time, which in turn improves my overall playing and control over my chops.